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Monday, January 13, 2014

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Review (2013)

Nearly ten years after the original, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy the man himself Will Ferrel returns with Writer partner and Director Adam McKay to return the number one news team of Burgundy, Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and Champ Kind (David Koechner) to our screens.
For years fans have been asking for it and as such expectations are high, not to mention a good comedy sequel is hard to pull of.

Picking up years after the original, Burgundy and co are on top of the world and Ron is enjoying his successful career with his wife Veronica Corningston (Christina Applegate.) Things soon take a dive for the worst though when Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford) fires Ron for being 'the worst news anchor he has ever seen' and promotes Veronica. Cut six months forward, Ron is a drunk, alone and with nothing to live. Insert a new news station hiring and hiring Ron along with a getting the band back together esq segment and we are of rolling on the new Ron Burgundy tale.

New company means new roles to fill from the last film. Where Vince Vaughn filled the antagonist of the last film working for an opposing news company, here the job comes from with-in the news station from James Marsden playing a real ass-hole as Jack Lime. With Veronica also on the side lines now having dumped Ron (not that she is in less of the film) the love interest gets picked up by Ron's new boss Linda Jackson, (Meagan Good) the aptly named African American which allows for a funny moment and a not so funny dinner party.

Anchorman 2 has a few issues with its jokes. Some seem to be there purposely to try and be edgy and the re-hashed jokes/segments from the first film fall flat and get in the way of what was seeming like a well placed comedy.

Not to say the movies not funny, it cant be quite hilarious usually surrounding three elements; insults, Brick or Ron's absolutely dumb-founding oblivious.

There are some defiant fun lines people with be quoting on the school playground for some time much like the first and some with the classic insults to be had.

Brick gets more time to shine here, which is great since he had some of the best moments in the first film. Brick also gets a romantic interest with Kristen Wigg's character Chan Lastnaame and yes you didn't read that wrong. It's disappointing that neither Champ or Brian get much time like Brick outside of the getting the band back together segment and soon fall to the back lines only to step in for quick one liners.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is full of laughs and to some level heart with Ron's odd relationship with his son. It's really great to see these characters again and with the addition of some new ones like the awkwardly funny Carell + Wigg relationship. Re-hashed and try hard jokes fall flat but the cameos (oh those cameos) more than make up for those.